For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, June 18, 2019				USDL-19-1002

Technical information:	(202) 691-6199  •  ncsinfo@bls.gov  •  www.bls.gov/ect
Media contact:		(202) 691-5902  •  pressoffice@bls.gov


		       EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION – MARCH 2019

Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $36.77 per hour worked in March 
2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries cost employers $25.22 while 
benefit costs were $11.55. Total compensation costs for civilian workers were $12.71 at the 10th wage 
percentile, $27.87 at the 50th (median) wage percentile, and $72.62 at the 90th wage percentile. 
(See tables A and 1.) 

State and local government worker compensation costs for employers averaged $50.89 per hour worked in 
March 2019. Wages and salaries averaged $31.75 and accounted for 62.4 percent of employer costs, while 
benefit costs averaged $19.14 and accounted for 37.6 percent. Total compensation costs at the 50th (median) 
wage percentile were $47.99. (See tables A and 1.)

Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $34.49 per hour worked ($25.21 
at the 50th or median wage percentile). Wages and salaries averaged $24.17 per hour worked and accounted 
for 70.1 percent of employer costs. Benefit costs averaged $10.33 per hour worked and accounted for the 
remaining 29.9 percent. Median employer costs per employee hour worked were $17.64 for wages and salaries 
and $7.57 for benefits. (See table 1.) 

Total compensation costs for private industry workers ranged from $12.37 at the 10th wage percentile to 
$68.60 at the 90th wage percentile. Wages and salaries were $10.06 at the 10th wage percentile and $46.64 at 
the 90th wage percentile. Total benefits ranged from $2.31 at the 10th wage percentile to $21.96 at the 90th 
wage percentile. (See table A.)

				News Release Tables and Wage Percentiles
				
Changes in the content and format of news release tables were made to highlight data characteristics and 
incorporate compensation costs by wage percentile. Details can be found at 
www.bls.gov/ect/updated-ecec-tables-crosswalk-march-2019.htm. For more information on average compensation 
costs within specified wage percentiles, see www.bls.gov/ect/compensation-percentile-estimates.htm.

Private industry employer costs for paid leave averaged $2.48 per hour worked or 7.2 percent of total 
compensation; supplemental pay averaged $1.10 or 3.2 percent, insurance benefits averaged $2.75 or 8.0 percent, 
retirement and savings averaged $1.33 or 3.9 percent, and legally required benefits averaged $2.66 per hour 
worked or 7.7 percent. (See table 1.)  

The average cost for private industry health insurance benefits was $2.60 per hour worked (7.5 percent of 
total compensation) in March 2019. Health insurance costs were 54 cents at the 10th wage percentile, $2.45 
at the 50th (median) wage percentile, and $4.85 at the 90th wage percentile. (See tables A and 1.)

Metropolitan area private industry compensation costs are published each March reference period for the 
15 largest Consolidated Statistical Areas (CSA) and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). Total compensation 
costs in March 2019 for private industry workers ranged from $28.48 per hour worked in the 
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL CSA to $53.65 per hour worked in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, 
CA CSA. As a percent of total compensation, wages and salaries accounted for 71.3 percent ($20.31) in the 
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL CSA and 69.8 percent ($37.46) in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, 
CA CSA. (See table 8.)

						Area Definitions
Metropolitan area definitions have been updated based on Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 13-01, 
dated February 28, 2013. For more information see www.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro.html.

					    TECHNICAL NOTE

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), a product of the National Compensation Survey,
provides the average cost to employers for wages and salaries as well as benefits per employee hour worked.
The ECEC covers the civilian economy, which includes data from both private industry and state and local
government. Excluded from private industry are the self-employed, agricultural workers, and private
household workers. Federal government workers are excluded from the public sector.

All workers are included in the benefit cost estimates including those that do not have plan access or do not
participate. Costs are also affected by other factors such as cost sharing between employers and employees,
plan features, and plan generosity. For the latest information on the percentage of workers with access to
and participating in employer-sponsored benefit plans, including health care and retirement and savings
plans, see www.bls.gov/ebs.

The “National Compensation Measures,” of the BLS Handbook of Methods, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm, 
provides additional details on the sample design, calculation methodology, and resources explaining changes 
over time.

Metropolitan area estimates, including historical data, are available in the ECEC database query tool at
www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/data.htm.

Sample size
Data for the March 2019 reference period were collected from a probability sample of approximately
26,500 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 6,500 private industry establishments and
approximately 7,900 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 1,400 state and local
government establishments that provided data at the initial interview.

Measures of reliability
Relative standard errors are available at www.bls.gov/web/ecec.supp.toc.htm and database query tools at
www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/data.htm.

Comparing estimates across economic sectors
Compensation cost levels in state and local government should not be directly compared with levels in
private industry. Differences between these sectors stem from factors such as variation in work activities
and occupational structures. Manufacturing and sales, for example, make up a large part of private
industry work activities but are rare in state and local government. Professional and administrative
support occupations (including teachers) account for two-thirds of the state and local government
workforce, compared with one-half of private industry.

Quarterly publication focus
This quarter’s release focuses on compensation costs in metropolitan areas and health insurance benefit
costs in private industry. Topics of news releases for the upcoming reference periods are as follows:
• June 2019—retirement and savings benefit costs in private industry
• September 2019—compensation costs in state and local government
• December 2019—supplemental pay costs in private industry

For 2019 ECEC release dates, see www.bls.gov/schedule/news_release/ecec.htm.